Vacuum cleaner



J. B. KIRBYI VACUUM --CLEANER March 14, 1950 Filed Jan. 29, 1945 '2Sheets-Sheet l 5 INVENTOR.

James B.

Kirby .1. B. KIRBY VACUUM CLEANER March 14, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJan. 29, 1945 INVENTOR.

J 5 B. K'rb BY Q ame L y ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 14, 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE VACUUM CLEANER James B. Kirby, West Richfield, OhioApplication January 29, 1945, Serial No. 575,015

This invention relates to vacuum cleaners of the type in which the airis drawn by suction through a dust collecting chamber and filter thatare interposed between the suction nozzle and fan.

The invention has for'an object to provide a vacuum cleaner with asuction creating and dust collecting unit including a filter and a dustcollecting chamber and having means under the control of the operatorfor momentarily reversing the flow of air through the filter from timeto time during operation of the cleaner to keep the filter clean andmaintain efficient operation.

It is common practice in the art to provide vacuum cleaners withpressure attachments adapted to be connected to the fan casing outlet toreceive air under pressure from the fan. In vacuum cleaners of the typeabove referred to, such air pressure attachments are inefficient becauseof the fact that the filter chokes the flow of air to the fan anddecreases the volume of air delivered to the attachment.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a pressureattachment for vacuum cleaners of the character referred to, soassociated with means controlling the fan inlet and outlet that air maybe drawn directly from the atmosphere into the fan and dischargedthrough the fan casing outlet to the pressure attachment.

An additional object is to provide a simple and compact air flowcreating and dust collecting unit having an easily removable dirtreceptacle so associated with the filter and air flow creating means asto provide a convenient and sanitary means for disposal of the dirt.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention may be said tocomprise the vacuum cleaner as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, hereinafter described and particularly set forth in the appendedclaims, together with such variations and modifications thereof as willbe apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

Reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification; in

which Fig. l is a top plan view of a vacuum cleaner embodying theinvention; 1 Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, vertical section through.

the cleaner, taken on the line indicated at 2--2 1 Claim. (Cl. 18357)Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line indicated at 5-5 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line indicated at 6-6 in Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a section taken on the line indicated at 'i! in Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a section taken on the line indicated at 8-8 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary vertical section on an enlarged scale throughthe valve casing and pressure hose connection;

Fig. 10 is a section taken on the line indicated at Ill-40 in Fig. 9,and

Fig. 11 is a section taken on the line indicated at H-ll in Fig. 9.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the cleaner housing is composedof a hollow bottom section l of oval form the bottom of which is roundedat the sides and ends to provide a narrow elongated flat center portionwhich is adapted to slide on a floor surface and a cover section 2 thatis also hollow, being arched in both longitudinal and'transversesection. The cover section 2 has a marginal edge portion 3 that conformsto and is adapted to receive a top edge of the oval bottom section I.The bottom edge of the cover section 2 rests upon an external shoulder 5on the bottom section I and is provided with an internal shoulder 6 thatis spaced far enough above the top edge 4 of the bottom section toprovide a channel to receive the margin of a suitable filter.

As herein shown, the margin of the filter is covered by an elasticrubber band 1 of channel section that is stretched around the ed e ofthe filter. The filter comprises a relatively stiff wire screen B thatmay have a sheet metal binder 9 around its margin and a cloth filter 10that underlies the screen 8 and has its marginal edge portions foldedover the edge of the screen 8. The cloth filter has a looped edge I!which receives a draw string l2 by means of which the cloth filter maybe drawn tightly against the bottom of the screen 8. The filter has aclose fit within the bottom portion of the cover section 2 and isnormally lifted off the bottom section with the cover section.- Tofacilitate the removal of the filter from the cover section,- a ring [3may be attached to one end of the filter by means of a bolt i l. Thefilter may be readily detached from the cover section bysimply graspingthe ring 53 and pulling the filter from the cover section.

Suitable fasteners are provided for detachably securing the coversection to the bottom section l. As herein shown the fastener comprisesa lever l5 that is mounted on a horizontal pivot l6 suitably secured tothe cover section 2 adjacent the shoulder 5 and a hoo: l1 that ispivoted to the lever l5 outwardly of the pivot IS, the hook I! beingadapted to engage a recessed shoulder IS on the bottom section i. Whenthe lever I5 is swung inwardly against the exterior of the cover 2 asshown in Fig. 2, the hook I! is drawn tightly.- against... the shoulderis and the cover is clampedtightly against the. top edge 4.- of thebottom section. The rubber channel 1 is clamped between the shoulder 6and the top edge 4 of the bottom section forming an air seal.

The filter I divides the housing into=upperand lower chambers, the lowerchamber. beingradust collecting chamber and the upper chamber being avacuum chamber. Thebottomsection I is provided with a suction inlet l9that. is normally closed by a flap valve 20 which is pivoted to swinginwardly to open the inlet upon. a flow of a r into the bo tom sect on.

Suction is created by means of a fan 2 I that is mounted upon the shaftof a motor 22. and en.- closed within a. casing 23, which has arearwardly extending portion 24 of reduced diameter which encloses themotor 22. The fan casing 23 has a central inlet at its forward end; andis provided with a forwardly. projecting cylindrical flange 25surrounding the inlet. The. flange. 25 extends into a rubber ring.v 2.6.that is mounted in a valve casing 21 that is formed integrally withthe'forward portion of the cover 2.

At the rear end of the i extension 24, an: attaching flange 28 isprovided in=whichis mounted a rubber cush oning. collar 29 whichreceives a supporting bolt 30,. that is fastened; tothe. cover 2-. Thefan. casing 23ismounted centrally of-the cover 2, which is provided witha longitudinal channel 3!- thatoverlies thescasing. 23. centrallythereof. Attherear end of the channel: 31. the cover is providedwith aninternal arcuaterib 32 that conforms to. the. casing 23 and; a: rubbersealing strip. 33,- is. provided. between the; rib- 32 and the casin 23.

Along. opposite sides of the. channel; 3-] the cover 2-. is provided:with longitudinal internal ribs 34 which closely overlie: the casing:23. and engage rubber sealing strips; 35; which; are clamped between.the ribs 34'. and-the. casing" 23 to seal the opposite sides of: thechannel. 31!. The forward end portion of thecover'isrece-ssedon oppositesides. of? the'channel' 3| the recesses havingfiat bottoms 36., avertical rear wall" 31 and vertical side walls 38 which formcontinuations of' the sides of the. channel 3! and opposite sides of:the valve: casing 21.

The fan casing: 23' has an outlet 23a to the space between th'efianges34 adjacent the rear end of the channel; 31., and a sealing strip 39" ofrubber is mounted. between the valve casing 27 and the upper portion ofthe fan casing 23 to prevent leakage of ai'r'between the front end ofthefan casing and the valve. casing 21, so that a passage 40: is formed'between' the cover 2 and the casing 23 from the outlet"'2.3a. forwardlyto a passage. 41 in the valve casing 2.1. Thepassage 4| leads. to avalve chamber 42 and the inlet to the fan casing is also connected. tothe valve chamber :32 bya passage 4'5.

The valve chamber.- 42 has four equiarrgularly spaced bearingportions44, 45; 45 and 41 which are adapted tohavesealing engagement with avalve" vane 48 that is mountedupon a central shaft 49. The" vane 48-carries packing strips-"U 4 in its edges which have sealing engagementwith the bearing members 44, 45, 46 and 41. The passage 4! opens intothe top of the valve chamber 42 between the bearing members 44 and 55.The passage 43 to the fan inlet opens to the valve chamber 42 at thebottom thereof between the bearing members 46 and 41. A transversepassage 5| opening through the walls 38 of the valve casing to theatmosphere, opens to the valve chamber. between-the bearing members 44and 41. A fourth passage 52 extends along the forward portion of thecover 2 and opens at its upper end into the valve chamber 42 between thebearing members 45 and 46 and at its lower end intothe vacuum chamber.

As best shown in Fig. '1, the valve chamber is .closed-at. one end-by aplate 53 which is of circular .form to fit a circular opening in thewall 38, the plate 53 being detachably secured to the wall 33 and havinga peripheral flange 54 which bears" against the'outer face ofthe-wall-33. The shaft 49 extends centrally through the vane48 and has a bearingat one end in the plate 53-. The shaft 49 is journaled at itsopposite-end in a bearing member 55 that is mounted in a cylindricalpocket that is formed integrally with and projects outwardly from oneofthe walls 38. The inner face of the wall 3% in which the pocket 56 isformed is provided with recesses 51 to receive the vane 48-.

In. the position of the valve shown in Fig. 2 the inlet of the fan isconnected through the passages 43 and 52 with the. vacuum chamber, andthe fan outlet is connected through they passages 4.0., 4! and 5!. to.the atmosphere. In. the other position of. the, valve shown in Fig. 9.the fan inlet. is. connected through the passages. 51 and 43. withtheatmosphere and thefan outlet is connected throughthe. passages. it,4.1 and 52 to. the vacuumchamber... By momentarily shif-.t ing the valve48, pressure may: be. reversed on the filter to dislodge. lintanddusttherefrom. During the reversal. of. pressure, the inlet I9. isclosed by means.- ofthe. valve 25 which is held against itsv seat. bythe; internal pressure. Since the reverse; flowof air through the filteroccurs only while pressure is being increased withinthe bottomcompartment, it is desirable that means be, provided bywhich the vane48) may be quickly shifted manually .and by'which the vane is;instantaneously and automatically returned to its normal positionwhenreleased.

As shown in Figs. 1' and 9, the shaft 49 has a pinion 59 attachedthereto within the pocket 56', and this pinion isv engaged by'circularrack teeth 60 formed on. avertical' rod 3| that is slidably androtatablymounted ina guide 82 formed integrally with the cover 2. Therod El has a reduced lower endiifi which is slidable in an aperture in ahorizontal plate fi l attached to'the cover and.- is normally held inits uppermost position by means of a coil spring that .ismounted betweenthe plate BIG and. washer 65 at the upper end' of the.- reduced portion63;. When the rod BI is depressed to its full extent, the. shafti s isturned to shift the-vane 4B tothe-position shown in Fig. 9, and uponrelease o'f the rod 5'! the vane 48 is instantly returned to its-normalposition by the spring 65;. During operation of the cleaner the rod 5!may be depressed to reverse the pressure on the filter, and immediatelyreleased to reestablish normal operating conditions. In this way thefilter -may= becleaned at intervals to increase its efficiency.

For a purpose which will be hereinafter explained, it is sometimesdesirable to hold the valve in the position shown in Fig. 9. As shown inFig. 8, the lower portion of the guide 52 may be provided withdiametrically opposite keyways 68 to receive a key 69 that passesdiametrically through the rod 61. When the rod Si is in its lowermostposition the key 68 is below the lower end of the keyway 6'! and byturning the rod 6| the key 88 may be engaged with a seat 620. at thelower end of the guide 62 to hold the rod in its depressed position andretain the valve in the position shown in Fig. 9. The circular ribs 60permit the rod to be turned while in engagement with the pinion 59 sothat the valve may be quickly and easily locked in its flow reversingposition when desired. The rod M is provided with a flat head 69 at itsupper end which can be readily engaged by hand or foot to push the roddownwardly or which may be easily grasped to turn the rod to lockingposition. Upward movement of the rod BI is limited by the engagement ofthe washer 66 against the seat 62a and the downward movement byengagement of the head 69 with the upper end of the guide 62, theextreme positions being shown in Figs. 8 and 9.

The cover 2 has an opening 78 into the passage 52 and this opening isadapted to be closed by means of a plug ii that has a flange 72 thatengages with a fiat bearing surface 73 around the opening. The opening18 has an internal groove 74 and the plug ll has an external groove 15that registers with the groove 14 when the plug is in place in theopening. An arcuate slot 16 opens into the groove i5 as shown in Fig. 11and a wire locking ring ll is mounted in the groove 15, the wire Iiihaving one end 18 anchored to the cover 2 and its opposite end extendingthrough the slot 16 and provided with a bent finger piece 78. The ring19 is formed of spring wire and is biased toward a contracted positionin which it lies partially within the groove 15 of the plug, to lock thesame in place.

By pushing on the end 19 of the ring, the ring in the inlet l9 as shownin Fig. 2, or in the opening it! as shown in Fig. 9. The coupling member80 has an inner cylindrical portion 82 that fits either in the openingi9 or the opening 18 and is also provided with an external flange 83that engages with a flat bearing surface 84 around the opening l9 orwith the bearing surface 13 around the opening 78.

The inlet opening 19 has an internal groove 85 corresponding to thegroove 14 in the opening 18, and the coupling member 8! has an externalgroove 86 that is adapted to register with the groove 85 in the opening19, or with the groove 14 in the opening 18.

When the coupling member 8! is mounted in the opening and the vane 48positioned as shown in Fig. 9 air is drawn into the fan through thepassages 5i and 43, and is discharged from the fan through passages 48,i2 and 52 to the hose 88. Since the air is drawn directly from theatmosphere instead of through the filter, the full force of the fan isexerted in driving the air under pressure through the hose 88.

While the extension 87 is desirable, it is not essential that thepassages 52 be cut ofi from the suction chamber since the hose 8!] whenconnected to the opening -10 forms the sole outlet for the air underpressure discharged through the passage 52. In order to avoid using thehousing as a pressure chamber, the coupling member 8! may be providedwith a semi-cylindrical section 81 at its inner end that engages witharcuate bearings 88 on opposite sides of the passage 52 as best shown inFig. 10, and with a circular recess 89 in the inner wall of the passage52, the inner wall of the passage having an arcuate flange 90 whichengages with the under side of the extension 8?, as shown in Fig. 9.

The inlet 1 9 as shown in Fig. 2, is of elongated, tubular form so thatthe extension 81 of the coupling member 8| is housed between theretaining ring and the valve 28. When it is desired to use the hose as apressure attachment, the plug II is detached from the opening 10 and thehose 80 is connected to the opening 10 as shown in Fig. 9. The valve 48is then set in the position shown in Fig. 9 and the fan operated todeliver air under pressure to the hose 88. The plug H may be fastened inthe inlet opening l9 while the hose to is being used as a pressureattachment since both the plug H and the coupling 8! are adapted to besecured in either opening.

To properly position the coupling member 8| in the opening iii a pin 9|mounted in the cover 2 engages in a slot 92 formed in the periphery ofthe bearing shoulder 83 to insure proper alinement of the extension 81with the bearing members 88.

The recesses on opposite sides of the valve casing at the forwardportion of the cover member may be closed by means of suitable grillplates 93 that allow free entry of air to the air inlet 5!, the grillplates being secured in place by any suitable means.

A suitable strap handle 94 may be provided for carrying the vacuumcleaner. The strap 94 may be secured to the cover in any suitable way.As herein shown, the ends of the strap are attached to the cover bymeans of bolts 95, which are slidable in slots 86 in the strap, as shownin Fig. 4. The strap 94 may be formed of a metal strip 91 covered withrubber, in which case the slot 96 extends through the strip 91 and therubber on the under side thereof, the bolt having a head 98 engagin theouter side of the strip 91.

During operation of the cleaner the filter may be kept open bymomentarily depressing the rod 6| at intervals to reverse the flow ofair through the filter, and the cover section can be quickly and easilyremoved to permit emptying of the dirt receptacle.

The filter may be cleaned by reversing the air flow through it, beforethe dirt receptacle is detached for emptying so that dropping of dirtfrom the filter after its separation from the dirt receptacle isavoided.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications of the specificdevice herein shown and described for purposes of illustration, may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

In a vacuum cleaner a fluid tight receptacle having a top wall, an uppersuction compartment and a lower dust collecting compartment, said dustcollecting compartment having an inlet for dust laden air, a fan andvalve unit carried by the top wall and positioned in said suctioncompartment, said unit comprising a fan casing having an inlet and anoutlet and a valve chamber and. having passages connecting said inletand outlet tathe; valve? chambemand-connecting the REFERENCESFGITEH,

The. following, references are; of record; in. the file of this. patent;

UNITED STATES.- PATENTS Number Name Date 7 1,153,751 Beth, Sept. 14,1915 1320224 Garman Oct. 28,1919 1,784,278 Dollinger 'Dec. 9,193.02,031,454 Bi'lde etrial. v Feb.'18;.1936 2,049,603 Dietenberger n Augu4,1936 2242277 Yonkers May'20; 19]; 2,372,944; Forsberg Apr. 3', 19452,413,587 Smellie- Dec.31, 1946

